US institute: We did NOT say Buhari ‘less likely to lose 2019 polls’

The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) has denied predicting victory for President Muhammadu Buhari in the forthcoming presidential election.

In an earlier report, the organisation was quoted as saying it is less likely for Buhari to be defeated in the 2019 elections.

But the institute says the report, which also analysed the chances of violence marring the elections, was based on its interactions with Nigerians from different sectors.

Reacting in a statement on its website, the institute said it never makes predictions about election outcomes.

The organisation said its only interest in elections is to help avoid violence and not on the outcome.

“USIP never makes predictions about election outcomes and has not done so in this case. The Institute’s work on elections is confined to helping nations avoid electoral violence,” the statement read in part.

“This study is based on interviews across the country with more than 200 Nigerian respondents – election administrators, political party representatives, security officials, civil society and youth groups, the media, traditional and religious leaders, prominent community figures, business people, academics and others.

“The USIP report noted that, in the interviews, ‘some respondents’ discussed their own views of Nigerian public perceptions about an election outcome. A Nigerian news account mis-reported this passage as a USIP prediction of the outcome, and other Nigerian news organisations repeated the error.

“As USIP is a strictly nonpartisan institution, its work on elections focuses entirely on preventing violence.”